Environment and education driving next generation of leaders

Environment and education driving New Zealand’s next
generation of leaders

New Zealand, 17 July 2017 - The
future of environment and sustainability is the leading
concern for New Zealand’s youth, a new survey from Inspiring Stories has revealed. In the
lead up to the 2017 Festival for the Future – New
Zealand’s biggest festival for young innovators and
leaders – the organisation surveyed over 150 Kiwis to
determine the issues they are most passionate about.

Beyond environment and sustainability, the future of
education and learning is a top priority for New Zealand’s
youth, followed by diversity and equality.

According to
the data from Inspiring Stories (85% of respondents are
between the age of 13 and 29, and 15% are 30 and
above):

• More than any of the other issue, the future
of the environment and sustainability scored the highest in
importance, with 81% of respondents rating it 8 or more out
of 10

• Global citizenship and migration is a hot topic
in today’s political landscape, and New Zealanders want to
explore the future of global citizenship and migration, with
63% rating 8/10 or more in importance

• 46% think there
is a need to have a workshop focussing on raising money,
suggesting that most are interested in starting or have
already started a business on the side

• 70% of
respondents think it would be helpful to discuss equality
and social justice

• 74% of respondents said that it was
‘super important’ to discuss mental health and wellbeing

• 75% of respondents gave a high rating for the need to
discuss the vision for New Zealand in 2040

The data
revealed that while important overall, participants over 25
were less concerned about education and learning than those
under 25, with diversity and equality ranking higher.
Regionally, respondents from Otago and Wellington are the
most interested in discussing the issues around the future
of education and learning in New Zealand, while those from
the Canterbury, Auckland and Waikato regions prioritised
environmental issues.

For young Kiwis, it’s about more
than simply developing networks and contacts. The data
suggests that many are looking for a sense of inspiration
and optimism about the future, and are taking it upon
themselves to develop the skills and capabilities they’ll
need moving forward.

Workshops that look beyond the
immediate future and raising money are of most interest to
attendees. Respondents indicated that they’d be most
interested in learning about the 2040 vision for the
Aotearoa New Zealand, along with mental health and wellbeing
– developing tools and strategies to become more mindful
and resilient. Workshops around equality and social justice
are also in high demand.

Given that it is election year,
nationally, there is strong interest from participants for
workshops looking at encouraging youth to get out to vote
– questioning what it will take to get more young people
to step up and use their voice to help shape the future of
the nation.

According to the Inspiring Stories data,
youth in the South Island Canterbury region are the most
interested in learning how to encourage young Kiwis to get
out and vote, followed by Otago, Auckland and Waikato.
Respondents from Wellington were the least interested,
comparatively.

Founder and CEO of Inspiring Stories, Guy
Ryan, says that the three-day event, which will see over
1,000 of New Zealand’s young innovators and leaders gather
in Auckland for talks, hands-on workshops and performances,
is driven by the participants themselves.

“We asked
hundreds of New Zealanders to outline the key issues that
they are interested in, to help shape the 2017 Festival for
the Future,” Ryan said.

“With the feedback we’ve
received, it's hard to imagine a group of young people more
passionate about helping to shape the future of New Zealand.
This festival is an opportunity to explore the issues facing
younger generations and inspire young innovators and
influencers to make a difference”.

Festival for the
Future is run by Inspiring Stories, a social enterprise
building funding, mentoring and training pathways to help
young New Zealanders unleash their potential.

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